David Rivera Hit With $58,000 Fine for Ripping Off State for Thousands in Expenses

Between the bizarre Ana Aliegro saga, the undisclosed casino consulting, and the myriad other mini-scandals, it can be difficult to keep track of every malfeasance that former Rep. David Rivera has been fighting. Among them, though, is a 2012 state ethics charge accusing Rivera of concealing his finances and double-billing the state for four years as a Florida House member.

Today, Rivera's punishment in that case came down from a Tallahassee judge. The embattled ex-politico must pay nearly $58,000.

The fine stems from 11 ethics violations Rivera was hit with in October 2012 related to his time in the house from 2005 to 2009.

The ethics commission found that Rivera routinely billed the state for travel and other expenses and then also paid himself back out of campaign accounts. The result: Rivera "was reimbursed for tens of thousands of dollars of expenses which he did not 'incur,'" Judge W. David Atkins writes.

As for those other cases, federal investigators are still looking into the complex plot involving Rivera's ex-associate, Ana Aliegro, who admitted to crafting a scheme to prop up a fake Democratic candidate in a primary. Aliegro named Rivera in the plot, but he has denied wrongdoing and has yet to be charged.